The Good Gut

Taking Control of Your Weight, Your Mood, and Your Long Term Health

By: Justin Sonnenburg, Erica Sonnenburg

Narrated by: Marc Cashman

A groundbreaking guide to the surprising source of good health.

Genetics and lifestyle are thought to be the two most important determinants of good health. But that is not the whole story. We have a second genome, our gut bacteria, that sets the dial on our bodies. Unlike our DNA, we can influence the gut bacteria, or microbiota, to optimize all aspects of our health. In The Good Gut, noted Stanford researchers Justin and Erica Sonnenburg, who are doing cutting-edge research on the microbiota, investigate how the trillions of microbes that reside in our gastrointestinal tract help define us, affecting everything from our immune response to our weight, allergic reactions, aging, and emotions; how they are under threat from the Western diet, our antibiotics, and our sterilized environment; and how we can nurture our individual microbiota.

This is urgent news. The recent change in our gut microbiota is linked to the alarming increase in obesity and autoimmune diseases. Our intestinal microbiota play an important role in the prevalence of predominantly Western afflictions, such as cancer, diabetes, allergies, asthma, autism, and inflammatory bowel diseases. These gut bacteria are facing a mass extinction, and the health consequences are dire.

The average American has 1,200 different types of bacteria residing in his or her gut. That may seem like a lot until you consider that the average Amerindian living in the Amazon has 1,600 species and is much less likely to develop Western maladies. How can we keep our microbiota off the endangered species list? How can we strengthen the community that inhabits our gut and thereby improve our own health? Your prescription for gut health is unique to you, and it changes as you age.

The Good Gut offers a new plan for health that focuses on how to nourish your microbiota, including recipes and a menu plan. Drs. Sonnenburg look at safe alternatives to antibiotics; dietary and lifestyle choices to encourage microbial health; the management of the aging microbiota; and the nourishment of your own individual microbiome. The proper understanding and care of our gut may be the most important health choice we can make.

Includes a Bonus PDF with recipes.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2015 Justin and Erica Sonnenburg (P)2015 Penguin Audio

Good Gut, good information.

Scientific data coupled with everyday examples made for a valuable source of information. Thank you.

Helpful, useful insight

Would you consider the audio edition of The Good Gut to be better than the print version?

Often I use library books or listen to an audio book before purchasing print and I have already gone and purchased this hardcopy to use as a reference.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Good Gut?

The link between your gut and mood.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes I found the scientific data and information very useful and wanted to continue to learn more.

Any additional comments?

I chose this book looking for answers to many media topics regarding health and your "gut". This book balanced scientific data and insightful, helpful information in correlation with your health. I enjoyed the book and knowledge I gained from it.

Great book!

This is a great and approachable book about emerging science on the microbiome and it’s critical role in every aspect of our health. Everyone should read it.

Exactly what I needed to hear

What I was hoping for, based in science, clearly explained, and with real world ideas on how to make use of the information.

Very good info for living

I have heard and read about the importance of the bacteria in our gut and this pulls it all together very nicely. My Grandmother always said we needed to eat a bushel of dirt before we were 5. Not actually eat it, but be outside and play in it We are too obsessed with being clean and it isn't good for us. The book has a nice balance of scientific information and practical advice.

Highly recommended!

This was a very FULL of information book! A great balance of scientific knowledge with the average readers understanding! I would highly recommend this book to anyone serious about improving their gut health! I’ve printed the accompanying PDF to better incorporate more fiber and MACs into my family’s diet.

great news from actual scientists

Loved it but then I am a clinical laboratory scientist so all the poop talk doesn't bother me. Good to hear from scientists that live what they learn.

Must Gut Read

This books an amazing inside look at our overall health and advice on how to help our children thrive.

Great information

It’s a little redundant but informative. If you really want to understand what’s really going on inside you, this is a great place to start.

Kindle your microbiota and they will reciprocate!

I approached this book with a skeptical mindset. Much of what I had heard about the microbiota and the importance of eating things that are beneficial to your gut had come either from advertisements or from crackpots who thinks that their personal anecdotes trump all published science. Despite my initial antagonism to their arguments, the authors managed to break down my defenses to deliver a rather strong message, namely that our microbiota is vital to us and that what we eat will affect it. In other words, we live in a powerful symbiosis with our gut bacteria. I can recommend this book if you are searching for an introduction to this field.

We have about 100 trillion microbes in our gut. In comparison, we have about 37 trillion cells with ‘our’ DNA in them. This fact alone implies that the microbiota plays an important function. More and more research points to the microbiota as a key player in our immune system. When a pathogen gets into our gut, it will have to compete with the bacteria already present in the gut. So depending the quantity and quality of your microbiota, pathogens will have more or less trouble getting established, and in extension, making you sick.

From this knowledge follows many implications. Fecal transplants for instance, in which the microbiota (stool) is taken from one person and given to another, can affect the recipient's immune system as well as their digestion. Indeed, as you will learn if you read this book, there are even studies suggesting that stool transplants can not only health status but also moods (perhaps because health and moods are linked?).

This is a good book. The writing is accessible. The authors are scientists and, unlike many other people who argue for the importance of the microbiota; they base most of their arguments on scientific studies. However, even though I can understand the impulse, I was sometimes taken aback by the author's willingness to use personal anecdotes. The authors (who are by the way married), have a son who had problems with his microbiota and throughout the book, the authors discuss how they implemented what science taught them, in their home. Anecdotes are of course very powerful and the anecdotes in this book help drive home its message. However, sometimes, I got the feeling that they used anecdotes to argue beyond what we know from science. In doing so they are approaching the dark side, the one filled with crackpots and people who believe that eating beans make you immune to any disease. I hope that they can stay on the right side in the future, though I fear for them. To not end on a negative note, which would be unfair, this was indeed a good book. Highly recommended for everyone!